Showed rainbow artifacts with video in our tests. Colors in 3D mode are dull. Optics limit it to a very small range of image sizes.

Bottom Line

The affordably priced BenQ MW853UST+ projector offers an ultra-short throw with high-quality data images, and it includes a wall mount.

The BenQ MW853UST+ ($1,249) has the distinction of being less expensive than most WXGA (1,280-by-800) ultra-short-throw projectors. And it comes with a wall mount, which makes it even more of a bargain. That's not to say you can't put it on a cart or table below the screen if you prefer. However, most ultra-short-throw projectors wind up permanently installed above the screen, and with the MW853UST+, you won't have to spend extra for the mount. Beyond that, you get an image that's bright enough for a small to midsize room, plus high-quality data images, which makes this model worth a look.

BenQ rates the MW853UST+ at 3,200 lumens, which puts it in the same brightness class as the 3,300-lumen Epson PowerLite 585W WXGA 3LCD Projector, our Editors' Choice WXGA ultra-short-throw projector. However, any comparison of brightness is complicated by the difference in technologies between the two models, with the Epson projector built around a three-chip LCD engine, and the MW853UST+ built around a single-chip DLP engine.

As with most LCD projectors, the Epson model's color brightness matches its white brightness. As with most DLP models, on the other hand, the MW853UST+'s color brightness is lower than its white brightness. That means full-color images won't be as bright as you would expect based on the white brightness, and you'll see more of a difference between the Epson and BenQ models' brightness levels than you would expect from the nearly identical ratings.

Basics, Setup, and Throw DistanceThe MW853UST+ weighs 11 pounds and measures 5.1 by 11.3 by 14.7 inches (HWD), not including the mirror near the back that the image bounces off of on its way to the screen. With the mirror, the height jumps to 7.9 inches. If you need to, you can put the projector on a table or cart, so you can move it from room to room. But even more than with most ultra-short-throw models, the shape, with the protruding mirror, makes it most appropriate to mount above the screen.

Setup is largely typical for an ultra-short-throw projector, with a focus control and no optical zoom. One useful addition is a small vertical-lens shift. The ability to move the image up and down from the center position by 4 percent of the image height makes installation a little easier by letting you correct for a minor mistake in positioning the wall mount.

BenQ says that for the projector's native 16:10 aspect ratio, you can use image sizes from 80 to 100 inches (measured diagonally), with the front of the projector roughly 11 to 17.5 inches from the screen. For my tests, I used a 92-inch (diagonal) image, and measured the front of the projector at 16 inches, and the mirror at 28 inches, from the screen.

The ports are all on the front, where the connectors and cables will be hidden from view. They include two HDMI ports, a composite video port, an S-video port, and two VGA ports for a computer or component video. There's also a LAN port for controlling the projector over a network, a USB Type B port for the optional pen-based interactive module ($160), and a USB Type A port for providing power to the optional touch-based interactive module ($160, or $320 altogether, since it requires the pen-based module). Neither option was included with the test unit. Note that both HDMI ports support all HDMI 1.4a 3D formats, so you can connect directly to a video device such as a Blu-ray player to show 3D content.

Brightness, Image Quality, and AudioStrictly as a point of reference, using the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) recommendations, and assuming a 1.0-gain screen, the 3,200-lumen rating for the MW853UST+ should make it appropriately bright in theater-dark lighting for image sizes ranging from 215 to 292 inches (measured diagonally). For moderate ambient light 3,200 lumens is bright enough for a 140-inch image.

That makes the MW853UST+ easily bright enough under most lighting conditions for the 80- to 100-inch image BenQ recommends based on the lensing system. For smaller screen sizes, you can also switch to Eco mode, one of the lower-brightness preset modes, or both.

Image quality for data images is a strong point, with the MW853UST+ handling our standard set of DisplayMate tests without serious problems. Color balance was excellent in my tests, with suitably neutral grays at all levels from black to white in all preset modes. Color quality was also good in most modes in testing. Red was a little dark in the brightest mode, but that's expected for projectors with a lower color brightness than white brightness. Colors in general were well-saturated and eye-catching in all modes.

The projector also held detail well in our tests, with white text on black crisp and readable at 9 points, and black text on white easily readable at 6.8 points. It helps also that the MW853UST+ doesn't show many rainbow artifacts (red-green-blue flashes) with static data images. The only time I saw any was with one test screen that's designed to bring them out, and even then I had to shift my gaze rapidly to see the artifacts.

Unfortunately, rainbow artifacts show often enough with full-motion video that anyone who sees them easily is likely to find them annoying, at least in scenes that tend to bring them out. This issue alone makes video best reserved for short clips of only a minute or two.

That said, video is good enough to be watchable otherwise. The quality is necessarily limited by the projector's native resolution, but I saw only minor to moderate loss of shadow detail (details based on shading in dark areas) and acceptable color. All the same comments, including the issue with rainbow artifacts, apply to 3D content as well, except that with 3D, colors are a little dull.

The MW853UST+'s stereo audio system, with two 10-watt speakers, doesn't provide much of a stereo effect, but it delivers acceptable sound quality, along with enough volume to fill a small to midsize room. You can also plug an external sound system into the stereo audio output.

ConclusionFor an ultra-short-throw projector that can handle video well enough for long sessions or one that's a little brighter than the BenQ MW853UST+, you'll want to take a close look at the Epson 585W. If you want one that you can move easily, be sure to consider the Ricoh PJ WX4141N, which is our Editors' Choice portable ultra-short-throw projector. If you don't need to show full-motion video, however, and you plan to mount the projector permanently, the MW853UST+ is a more-than-reasonable choice at a highly attractive price.

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About the Author

M. David Stone is an award-winning freelance writer and computer industry consultant. Although a confirmed generalist, with writing credits on subjects as varied as ape language experiments, politics, quantum physics, and an overview of a top company in the gaming industry. David is also an expert in imaging technologies (including printers, moni... See Full Bio

BenQ MW853UST+

BenQ MW853UST+

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